Black Family Technology Awareness Week luncheon at Northeast High School

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More than 200 students, staff, technology professionals and partners listened to the musical stylings of a high school choir last week. But everyone was there to promote technology literacy.

Held at Northeast High School, the sixth-annual luncheon was again the signature event of the city’s 11th-annual Black Family Technology Awareness Week, which aims to promote digital literacy in nonwhite households to combat the digital divide.

Hosted by the Secondary Robotics Initiative Department, week-founder IBM and the Mayor’s Commission on Technology, the luncheon aims to highlight particularly the technology work of young people, particularly nonwhite and other youth less likely to be involved in tech, and connect them with IT professionals of color.

“The event was held at Northeast because they have a technology lab and a stellar robotics program,” MCOT representative Kyasha Tyson told Technically Philly.

In addition to IBM, students interacted with representatives from Black Data Processing Associates, Emelle mE, Urban Youth Racing School, the Oglesby Group, Urban STEM Strategy Group and the Genaera Corporation.

In addition to the school’s choir, last Wednesday’s event featured Northeast High’s robotics club, a former hot rod association world champion and, yes, former Eagles linebacker, 610 WIP personality and online sports news entrepreneur Gary Cobb.